Chapter 83

“Oh, Your Grace!”

The knights who had been standing at the entrance all greeted Evan in unison as they spotted him.

Evan, who nodded silently at their greeting, slowly walked up to me, his gaze fixed on me without a moment’s distraction.

“You can stop the escort for today and head back.”

At his unusually low voice, the knights exchanged glances and quickly took their leave.

Once the knights had disappeared and it was just the two of us, Evan opened his mouth slowly, as if probing.

“It seems you had a lot to discuss with your advisor today.”

“Excuse me?”

“I heard you didn’t come out for quite a while after entering the tower.”

At his words, I forced a sheepish smile and averted my gaze.

“Yes. It just happened that way…”

I wanted to spill everything that had happened in the tower right away.

However, given the unclear nature of our relationship, I had no idea where to start or how much to share, making it hard for me to speak.

Evan let out a heavy sigh, interpreting my silence.

“They are your guards. From now on, even if they try to stop you for any reason, confirming your safety will take precedence. And…”

He paused, staring at my face intently.

His expression was unreadable, leaving me unsure of what he was thinking.

After a few moments of hesitation, Evan continued.

“If you need to meet with your advisor, it would be better to do so in the castle rather than the tower in the future.”

At his words, I momentarily didn’t know what expression to make and just blinked.

“Why?”

“I’ve heard that a rumor has been circulating among the servants. Fortunately, there are hardly any who believe the nonsense spread by those who enjoy doing so, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”

Knowing how quickly rumors spread, especially when they are provocative, I could easily understand Evan’s words.

However, I didn’t respond immediately and silently stared at Evan’s face.

“What about you? How did you feel after hearing that rumor?”

He frowned slightly at my question and opened his mouth.

“Why does my feeling matter?”

“It matters to me.”

After hearing my answer, he looked into my eyes with a calm expression that revealed nothing of his thoughts.

The awkward silence that inevitably accompanied our encounters lately was becoming unbearable.

“I felt no emotions at all.”

His delayed response made me feel as if something heavy had dropped inside me.

Perhaps it was because I had just experienced a shock.

Normally, I would have felt a bit disappointed, but strangely, this time it hit me with such force that I almost lost my breath.

“Is that all?”

“What more do you need?”

Seeing him seemingly suppressing his emotions right in front of me made my own feelings plummet.

As the meaningless back-and-forth continued, sharp words escaped my lips.

“If you felt no emotions, why would you care about such rumors? You could just let me do whatever I want.”

Evan silently watched me as I took a deep breath and snapped back.

I didn’t stop there and added one more thing.

“And about the escort earlier, I can’t agree with that. Joy might have had a reason to stop the knights.”

“It’s not possible.”

“Why? I don’t understand why I need that level of escort.”

Lately, I had been feeling frustrated as the intensity of the escort seemed to be increasing.

They said it was a precaution against potential dangers, but I wondered if it was really necessary to go this far.

However, once again, Evan’s refusal to provide a clear reason sparked a sense of anger within me.

“Why do you always refuse to explain? Every time you do this, I feel like a fool.”

I was resentful of this man, who seemed to be doing this for my sake but drew a line at crucial moments.

The frustration I had been holding in for days finally erupted.

At that moment, the moon, which had been hidden behind clouds, gradually revealed itself, casting light on where we stood.

As I stared intently at Evan’s increasingly clear face, I noticed his pupils trembling violently.

“…What’s wrong with your face?”

Evan suddenly asked in a low voice, his expression turning serious.

It seemed that my pale complexion had caught his attention as the darkness faded.

Just when I thought he was keeping an endless distance, he came in close enough that I couldn’t help but feel confused.

“Why does that matter right now?”

I mirrored Evan’s earlier words back to him.

Evan appeared to want to say something more, his lips moving, but he quickly swallowed his words.

It was clear that we were both upset, but I couldn’t think of what to do next.

‘Ah, I just want to collapse.’

I had just regained consciousness after fainting for six hours.

With no strength left and emotional exhaustion added to the mix, I felt I could no longer hold on.

“Well then, I’ll be going ahead.”

Not wanting to collapse in front of Evan, I gathered my wits and took a shaky step forward.

Thud, thud.

Behind my silent footsteps, a steady sound followed me.

The sound didn’t fade until I reached my bedroom.

Collapsing onto the bed, I couldn’t resist the overwhelming fatigue that rushed over me, curling up and closing my eyes.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

The next day.

Joy came to the castle.

“Customer! I’m here. How are you feeling…?”

Unlike his usual loud entrance into the office, today he knocked carefully before coming in.

“Welcome. I think I feel a bit better than yesterday.”

“Really? That’s a relief. But why does your face look worse than yesterday?”

“Things happened.”

I replied with a bitter smile to Joy, who was asking with a chuckle.

Not only had I learned that I was cursed, but I also had a fight with Evan, which left me unable to get proper sleep.

With sorrow and frustration piling up, I tossed and turned all night, so it was no wonder I looked a mess.

“Well, should we save the conversation we were going to have for later? It seems like you really need sleep right now.”

“No, I’d like to hear the rest of yesterday’s story. Since I’m cursed, what could possibly be worse?”

Joy seemed to want to postpone the remaining conversation, worried about my condition, but my stubbornness was firm.

“Alright, I understand. Where should I start…?”

Finally, raising both hands in surrender, Joy struggled to find her words.

“I’m not good at beating around the bush, so I’ll just get straight to the point.”

As Joy pondered how to begin, he seemed to make a decision and looked directly at me, speaking plainly.

“Customer, you’re under a curse and also a brainwashing spell.”

“…Brainwashing?”

A curse followed by brainwashing.

Thanks to yesterday’s preparation, I found the composure to wait for Joy’s further explanation.

“This is also a type of black magic. Ugh, seriously! What kind of life have you been living?”

Joy, who had been calmly explaining, suddenly ruffled his hair and raised his voice.

“Not just one kind of black magic, but two!”

“C-calm down, Joy…”

“How can I be calm?! If the temporary spell I put in place is broken, you could die instantly!”

Joy, who was more agitated than I was, began biting her nails and suggested we think of a way to dismantle the curse.

“Still, the silver lining is that the brainwashing spell can be easily undone. Do you have any objects that you usually carry with you or keep nearby for a long time?”

“Objects?”

“Yeah. The brainwashing spell doesn’t directly imprint on the subject’s body; it activates through a medium that’s nearby.”